Index book



Feb. 19, 1929. 1,702,357

C. A.- MEIEICKE INDEX BOOK Fi led May 13, 192v INVENTOR .Z 5:C/LME/L/CAE ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 19, 1929.

UNITED STATES CARL A. MEILICKE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

INDEX BOOK.

Application filed May 13,

My invention relates to improvements in index books, and itconsists inthe combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described andclaimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an index book having base and acover with cards disposed thcrcbetween so as to take up a minimum ofspace, portions of these cards being foldable upwardly and rearwardlyand the cover portion being so constructed as to instantly form a backfor supporting the card portions in their turned-back position.

A further object is to provide an index book in which tabs are providedfor each card, each card being hinged so that either in the turned-upposition or in the normal closed position of the holder all of the tabsare read able.

A further object is to provide a device of the type described in which abase portion is provided, the base portion being hinged to swingupwardly and rearwardly and to constitute not only a means for swingingall the cards upwardly, but also constituting a cover when the cards arein their upturned posi tion.

A further object is to provide a device for holding cards in ahorizontal position, whereby one face of the card may easily be seen, orin a position inclined to the vertical, whereby the other face of thecard may be easily seen, the adjacent cards having overlapping tabs oftransparent material so that the fig ures, letters or other indicatingcharacters on the tabs may all be seen without the necessity of movingthe cards to any particular position.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming partof this application, in which Figure 1 is aside view of the holderclosed,

Figure 2 is an enlarged side view showing the holder in itsopenedposition,

Figure 3 is a front view of the device showing certain of the cardsturned back,

Fimire at is an enlarged sectional view along the line 4L-4t of Figure2, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a portion of oneof the cards, showing the scoring to permit the cards to swing.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a 1927. Serial No. 191,130.

base portion 1 of any suitable material, such as stiff cardboard,leatherette, or similar material. This base portion has an extension 2which is hinged thereto at 3 so as to fold upwardly and rearwardly intothe position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2.

Upon the base is disposed a series of cards of progressively shorterlength. Each of these cards consists of a rear portion 4 and a frontportion 5 hinged to the rear portion. I prefer to use cards which have afabric inner portion and which are finished on both sides thereof with apaper face. Such a card 1 have shown in section in Figure 5. In thisconnection, it will be observed that the upper face is provided with ascored line 6, the lower face being provided with a slightly scored line7.' This will permit the card portion 5 upon which the data is to beentered to be swung upwardly and rearwardly in the manner shown inFigure 2. The scored lines 6 form a line of hinges 8 which is parallelto the plane defining the front edges of the cards when the latter arein their closed osition. It is therefore apparent that the portions 5 ofthe cards are all ofthe same size, while the portions 4: areprogressively shorter.

The top is composed of a double thickness of cardboard or similarmaterial, comprising upper and lower strips which are hinged together attheir forward "edges, as shown at 9. The upper strip 10 is also hingedtogether at 11 andat 12, while the lower strip 13 is hinged together at14. The rear ends of the upper and lower strips 10 and 13 are arrangedfor holding the cards in position. To this end, posts 15, see Figure 4,are passed through the cards and screws 16 are provided for sccuring thecard portions 4 between the base portion 1 and the rear sections of thecover members 10 and 13. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, it will be notedthat the upper layer of the cover comprises two movable portions and afixed portion, while the lower layer comprises a movable portion and afixed portion. The proportions of the movable portions of the upper andlower layers are such that when the cover is moved upwardly andrearwardly, the movable portion 13 of the lower layer will form asubstantially upright support for the cards as shown in Figure 2. Theshort movable portion of the upper layer folds back upon the fixedportion of the lower layer and rigidly supports the portion 10 whichsupports the portionlS. It will thus be seen that I have provided acover which when the latter is moved upwardly and rearwardly, themovable portions of the cover will assume a supporting position for thecards.

At the forward edges of each of the card portions 5 are transparent tabs17. These tabs, as will be observed, overlap, but, being transparent,the numerals or characters on one tab may be seen through the one in thefront or the rear of it.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, theoperation thereof may be readily understood. The normal closed positionof the device is that shown in Figure 1. hen it is desired to open theholder, the base portion 2 may be raised and swung into the dot-ted lineposition and this will raise the portions 5 of the cards and also thecover portion. The latter will open up so as to form an inclined supportof a portion of the member 13 and a brace of portion of the member 10,as shown in Figure 2 at an angle to the vertical; 1. e., in the anglefor easiest inspection of the cards.

Since the cards are held by the cover por tion, there is no need ofproviding an additional support. lVhen the cards are in their upperturned-back position, one face of the card is in view and when thatparticular card is turned down, the opposite face is in view. Thedevice, as stated, obviates the necessity of a separate holder for thecards. When it is closed, as shown in Figure 1, the cards are flat andin a compact arrangement and the holder then forms a book having thetabs so arranged that instant access may be had to the card desired sothat by turning the card back those cards that are above, together withthe cover portion, will be moved into the position shown in Figure 2,and there will be held stationary in an inclined position.

It will be noted that the tabs are so arranged that when the holder isclosed those tabs on the lowermost sheets pr ect out farther, and thetabs on the other sheets are arranged in a series of steps, eachsucceeding tab being set inwardly from the end of the device. When,however, the hinged portions oi": the cards are turned to their upperposition, then the tabs of the uppermost sheets project out farther thanthose of the lowermost sheet and the tabs are exposed in steps extendingfrom the uppermost to the lowermost sheet. This tends to expose the dataon the tabs to the same extent either in the upper or lower positions ofthe cards.

I claim:

1. In an index book having a plurality of cards provided with movableportions, a cover having an upper layer and a lower layer hingedlysecured together at their forward ends, said upper layer having astationary portion and two movable port-ions, said portions beingsecured together by flexible hinges, the lower layer comprisingstationary portion and a movable portion hingedly secured together, allof the movable portions said cover being adapted to be moved upwardlyand rearwardly for form: ing an upstanding support for the movableportions of said cards.

2. An index book comprising a base having a movable portion, a coverhaving an upper layer and a lower layer hingedly secured together attheir forward ends, said upper layer having a stationary portion and twomovable portions, said portions being secured together by flexiblehinges, the lower layer comprising a stationary portion and a movableportion hingedly secured together, a plurality of superposed cards, allof said cards having a movable hinged portion of the same area adaptedto be moved to an upright position and a. stationary portion, thestationary portions of the cards being progressively shorter from thelowermost to the uppermost card, the movable hinged portion of the cardsbeing substantially the same area as the movable portion of the base,said cards being scored to form a line of hinges intersecting the hingedconnection between the stationary and movable portions of the lowerlayer and the hinged connection of the base, said movable portions ofthe cover being movable upwardly and rearwardly to form an upstandingsupport for any or all of the hinged portions of said cards, the hingedportion of said base being movable to an upper position to cover thehinged portion of the lowermost card when the latter has been moved toits upright position.

3. An index book comprising a base, a plurality of jointed cards and acover with means binding the base, card and cover togcther at one end,said cover having separate upper and lower layers hingedly securedtogether at their forward ends, said upper layer comprising a shortiiied portion, a short movable portion adjacent the fixed portion and along movable portion, said lower layer comprising a fixed portion longerthan the fired portion of the upper layer and a long movable portion,whereby when the two short portions of the upper layer are superposedthe two long portions assume a substantially upright position.

4t. An index book comprising a base having a portion hingedly securedthereto, a plu rality of cards carried thereby, all of said cards havinga movable hinged portion of the same area adapted to be moved to anupright stationary position, a cover having an upper layer and a lowerlayer hingedly secured together at their forward ends, said upper layerhaving a stationary portion and a pair of movable portions, saidportions being secured together by flexible hinges, the lower layercomprising a stationary portion and a movable portion hingedly securedto gether, the movable portions of said cover being movable upwardly andrearwardly for ill) forming a support for the movable hinged portions ofsaid cards when the latter are moved upwardly, and means passing throughthe stationary portions, the cards and the base for holding the booktogether.

5. An index book comprising a base having a portion hingedly securedthereto, a plurality of cards carried thereby, all of said cards havinga movable hinged portion of the same area adapted to be moved to an upright stationary position, acover having an upper layer and a lowerlayer hingedly secured together at their forward ends, said upper layerhaving a short fixed portion and two movable portions, one of saidmovable portions being also short and the other considerably longer,said portions being hingedly secured together, the lower layercomprising a fixed portion and a movable portion hingedly securedtogether, the movable portion of the lower layer being slightlylonger'than the longest portion of the upper layer, said movableportions being movable upwardly and rearwardly for forming an inelinedsupport when the short movable p01 tion is laid back upon the fixedportion, and means passing through said fixed portions, said cards andthe base for rigidly securing said index book together, the hingedportion of the base being of the same area as the movable hingedportions of said cards and movable to an upright position to cover thehinged portion of the lowermost card when the lat ter has been moved toits upright position.

CARL A. MEILICKE.

